Punta Del Este 2011

From November 7th to November 11th, the 10th World Congress of Perinatal Medicine took place in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. This scientific gathering was organized by the World Society of Perinatology and chaired by Dr. Justo Alonso as President of the Congress and Dr. Ana Bianchi as President of the Scientific Committee.

The event was a great success for Latin America as it gathered 1806 participants of 68 different countries; and counted with the participation of 220 speakers of worldwide renown. Six pre-congress courses were organized accompanied with a course for Alumni of the Caldeyro Barcia’s School of Perinatology, where pioneering work in the field started, and a workshop organized by FIGO.

During the Opening Ceremony, the World Society of Perinatology delivered two Saling Awards to honor the trajectory of two personalities within the specialty, to Professor Assim Kurjak in the field of Obstetrics and to Professor Bancalari in the field of Neonatology. Dean Dr. Tomassina from the University of Montevideo named Dr.Bancalari, Dr. Kurjak, Dr. Carrera, Dr. Maeda, Dr. Chervenak, Dr. Saling, Dr. Sola and Dr. Longo as Professor Honorius Causa for their outstanding contribution to the development of Perinatology in Uruguay. The titles of Foreign Member of the Academy of Medicine of Uruguay were given to Dr. Maeda and Dr. Saling by the President of the organization, Professor Luis Peña. As a special tribute to Professor Caldeyro Barcia, a pioneer Uruguayan in Perinatology worldwide, Brazilian Professor Buasmana Neme, a colleague of Caldeyro Barcia, was recognized for his contributions to perinatal medicine.

The gathering explored the most relevant topics for perinatal medicine nowadays - such as prematurity, maternal-infant nutrition, preeclampsia, diabetes, and prenatal diagnostic by image - achieving a broad coverage of Neonatology and Obstetrics’ topics.